The Market Roller Coaster

It feels like a lifetime ago that stock markets were like a boulder rolling down a hill, and we the investors, were like the mythological Greek King, Sisyphus; condemned to watch our boulder roll down the hill, only to have to try push it back up again. In other words, investing felt hopeless; big-tech companies were being exposed for the first time (well, that was what my Facebook newsfeed said on my Apple iPhone), both in their profitability and their ethics, and the Australian banks appeared weak as the royal commission heated up.

What felt like a lifetime ago was actually late March, 2018. Now, the Australian Stock Exchange 200 is ‘poised’ to hit a 10 year high, according to AMP Investment Strategist, Shane Oliver. But how is it possible that a decades’ worth of stock market performance has changed in the past 5 weeks? Well, the reality is, is that the Australian Market was never really in a bad position in the first place. Interest rates, wages growth, employment data and consumer confidence ratings are the same today as they were five weeks ago. The only difference now however, is that all this is happening on a backdrop of a strengthening Silicon Valley and peaceful diplomacy in Asia.

There is an important lesson here, that goes beyond the performance of the Australian Market: your investments shouldn’t hinge on the value of the ASX200 in the first place. At Ascent Private Wealth we adopt the philosophy of a global perspective when it comes to investing. Across Asia, the USA & Europe, there is a world of opportunity to be found.